Cheap Lipo Batteries / Where to Find Them

[Brendan Eberenz]

I missed the Thunderpower Thanksgiving battery sale as I was doing some test runs and eventually found out my current batteries don't have enough juice to get me through a full pattern. Does anyone know if that type of deal comes around again, or will I just have to wait for Thanksgiving 2022?

Also, does anyone have a reasonably priced altenative to Thunderpower Lipo batteries?

In the meantime,  I was looking around and found some 5s batteries on AliExpress I was thinking about ordering. I have included the website below if you want to take a look. How wary should I be of cheap and obscure brand batteries from China? My gut tells me they are going to be crap, but the price makes me want to take a chance. Any thoughts?


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33041826276.html?algo_pvid=9e20299d-14b9-4d2e-acd4-5683b539c466&algo_exp_id=9e20299d-14b9-4d2e-acd4-5683b539c466-8&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2267309075717%22%7D

[John Paris]

Brendan,
Seems that Brent Williams had some over in the classifieds if you were looking for 5 cell 2800s.  Sorry I have not gotten to that eSlob video yet as well.
John

[Dennis Toth]

Brendan,
Those batteries look interesting but haven't heard of anyone using them. One place you can look is the Glacier batteries: https://www.buddyrc.com/collections/5s-18-5v I know several people who have used them and they were happy with them.

Best,    DennisT

[Brendan Eberenz]

Brendan,
Seems that Brent Williams had some over in the classifieds if you were looking for 5 cell 2800s.  Sorry I have not gotten to that eSlob video yet as well.
John

I have some 5s 2700s, but probably need some 3000 based on my calculations. As for the Slob video, I found a really good one on facebook to get a sense of how things are done. Then we proptly went out and shattered our into to ground. It is a project for another day. So basically, the video can wait :-). Thanks again for the help.

[Brendan Eberenz]

Those batteries look interesting but haven't heard of anyone using them. One place you can look is the Glacier batteries: https://www.buddyrc.com/collections/5s-18-5v I know several people who have used them and they were happy with them.
[/quote

Thanks for the suggestion

[Crist Rigotti]

Try here:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-compact-3000mah-5s1p-20c-lipo-pack-w-xt60.html?queryID=6ae13e2cf1f468716719688791a81acb&objectID=82631&indexName=hbk_live_products_analytics

Zippy Compact 5S 3000mah 20C 340 grams $24.07 each
or
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-compact-3000mah-5s1p-40c.html?queryID=e61c351ae3bf6d35ef2d4be8a6ba3c84&objectID=82523&indexName=hbk_live_products_analytics

Zippy Compact 5S 3000mah 40C 390 grams $41.95 each

[Ken Culbertson]

Try here:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-compact-3000mah-5s1p-20c-lipo-pack-w-xt60.html?queryID=6ae13e2cf1f468716719688791a81acb&objectID=82631&indexName=hbk_live_products_analytics

Zippy Compact 5S 3000mah 20C 340 grams $24.07 each
or
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-compact-3000mah-5s1p-40c.html?queryID=e61c351ae3bf6d35ef2d4be8a6ba3c84&objectID=82523&indexName=hbk_live_products_analytics

Zippy Compact 5S 3000mah 40C 390 grams $41.95 each

I used the Zippy 4s and 5s and a couple of 6s for over a year with zero problems.  The 4s group (4) had over 50 cycles each.  All full patterns on my 52 oz Twister. 

Ken

[kevin king]

When I was doing RC helicopters, Banggood had great prices on lipo batteries.

[Perry Rose]

RC Juice has good batteries.

[Mark wood]

RC Juice has good batteries.

I have used lots of different batteries over the last 20 years and cheap isn't good. Unfortunately high price doesn't mean quality. From my understanding there are only a few LiPo cell plants, like three of them. The batteries from Hobby King are "ok" they will last for a while and are adequate for occasional flying. I have had tremendously good luck with the Hobby Star batteries from RC Juice and Thunder Power. The latter being nearly 2X the price and from the information they seem to be the same exact cell sources only the ratings differ slightly. RC Juice is the go to for the quad copter folks and their products are very good. I have some batteries from them that are over 100 cycles and still performing well. Here's my $0.02:

RC Juice - they should be the measure of all who make LiPo batteries be compared. Best performance. Best value.
Hobby King - Lowest cost - good performance.
Thunder Power - Best performance, same as HS. Highest cost.

[Dennis Toth]

I see all the comparisons for battery life and price.  I have used the Zippy Compacts and been very satisfied. One thing not being talked about is the weight. This is where Thunder Power Lite 25C packs outperform all the other good packs. If you are just flying around as a sport flyer, scale flyer, quad flyer it doesn't matter and price/value is a good benchmark. If you fly stunt were 1/4oz is important then from what I see in the market right now only Thunder Power Lite packs are for you. The RC Juice comes a close second for some packs.

In electric our one weakness is choices in size/weight of motor/battery packages. You almost have to choose the motor/battery then design around that weight. Right now, the BadAss motors seem to be giving very high power for their weight. You can usually drop one motor size and use the same prop/rpm with them. Again, if weight matters these are worth looking into.

Happy New Year,             DennisT

[Mark wood]

I see all the comparisons for battery life and price.  I have used the Zippy Compacts and been very satisfied. One thing not being talked about is the weight. This is where Thunder Power Lite 25C packs outperform all the other good packs. If you are just flying around as a sport flyer, scale flyer, quad flyer it doesn't matter and price/value is a good benchmark. If you fly stunt were 1/4oz is important then from what I see in the market right now only Thunder Power Lite packs are for you. The RC Juice comes a close second for some packs.

In electric our one weakness is choices in size/weight of motor/battery packages. You almost have to choose the motor/battery then design around that weight. Right now, the BadAss motors seem to be giving very high power for their weight. You can usually drop one motor size and use the same prop/rpm with them. Again, if weight matters these are worth looking into.

Happy New Year,             DennisT

Good point, however the RCjuice and TP are essentially the same packs with different labels on them. For instance the TP 5s 2800 and the RCJ HS 5s 3000 are the same pack size and weight. With the HS being less expensive, Is why I put it up on top. One thing that happens is pack are derated which confuses things. If you took the label values the HS it would outperform the TP pack at the same weight.

[Brendan Eberenz]

Try here:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-compact-3000mah-5s1p-20c-lipo-pack-w-xt60.html?queryID=6ae13e2cf1f468716719688791a81acb&objectID=82631&indexName=hbk_live_products_analytics

Zippy Compact 5S 3000mah 20C 340 grams $24.07 each

Given my wingloading calculations and pocketbook, you might be on to something here. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Brendan Eberenz]

I used the Zippy 4s and 5s and a couple of 6s for over a year with zero problems.  The 4s group (4) had over 50 cycles each.  All full patterns on my 52 oz Twister. 

Hey Ken, it just so happens that I have a 52oz Twister I also need to outfit. Can you send me the setup you used for 4s batteries and 5s batteries to be able to get through a full pattern?

[Brendan Eberenz]

I appreciate all you guys weighing in and giving perspective of batteries. Weight has been something I have been really trying to be mindful of and I have been doing some wingloading calculations along the way. I will probably shy away from the batteries I found, especially since the Zippy compact 3000s are cheaper and weigh less. I am still undecided on the other brands, but at least know what others in the CL world are using. Thanks for all your help.              - Brendan